DRAMA; Sun., Feb. 28, 8.30 PM; Nine

STARRING: Vince Colosimo, Rebecca Gibney, Maya Elliott

Nine's telemovie is based on the body in the boot case, a 2005 crime in which Joe Korp's mistress, Tania Herman, strangled his wife and left her for dead in the boot of her own car. With a cracker cast re-enacting the headline-grabbing story, it's hard to see how Wicked Love could go wrong. And it hasn't.

In an interesting narrative choice, a brunette Gibney as Maria, Korp's wife, provides a Desperate Housewives–esque voice-over from beyond the grave. Maria's narration is wry and even humorous at times, addressing the crucial questions (why did she stay with Joe when she knew he was having an ongoing affair?) with a touching emotional honesty.

Though all the actors turn in fine performances, the crux of it all is Colosimo as the philandering Joe. His towering turn as a ruthlessly manipulative, self-deluding charmer is a tour de force, and though the film nods at other versions of events, such is its power that this viewer was thoroughly convinced.